4/04/2001 @ 12:01AM

Chinese Shipwreck Treasures Revealed

A fabulous hoard of Chinese antiquities salvaged from shipwrecks in the South China Sea is causing a terrific stir among collecting and museum circles. Until now, almost no one has been allowed to view material or pictures from the finds; certainly no one in the general public.

Though this doesn’t include every item, the treasures shown here, mark the first time they’ve been on such general display. There are estimated hundreds of objects, most nearly 1,000 years old. According to experts, the number and rarity of the pieces found will significantly affect both the commercial market and scholarly research in top-flight East Asian antiques for years to come.

The shipwrecks were discovered six years ago in international waters between Malaysia and Borneo.
Tilman
Walterfang
Tilman Walterfang
, the German mechanical engineer and director of a large concrete-supply company who discovered the wrecks, created a new company to pursue a salvage project, dubbed Seabed Explorations. Despite mounting costs and regular visits from pirates,
Seabed Explorations
, based in New Zealand, completed on-site raising operations in three years.

But the company decided to keep quiet about its findings until recently, because the company had been running the treasures through the painstaking desalination and immersion processes necessary for proper preservation. Costs to date have exceeded $7.5 million, according to Rolf Marie and Nikolai von Uexküll, marketing directors at Seabed.

So far the company has unveiled the details of two separate shipwrecks named after small landmarks near their sites of discovery. One is an 11th century wreck called Intan, which was filled with Song dynasty artifacts; the other is the 14th century Maranei, replete with Ming artifacts.

Between them, the ships held export cargoes of ceramic, stoneware and earthenware bowls and plates, bronze mirrors and containers, gold and silver jewelry, ingots and coins, and other things. Nobody knows just how much the hoard is worth, but according to Seabed officials, “The investors are thoroughly satisfied by the importance and value of the finds.”

The ships also offer revelations of hitherto unseen artifacts. For example, the Maranei wreck features a small hand cannon the size of firearms that was not thought to exist until three centuries later. The Intan wreck is notable for the cultural diversity of its contents, wrought in Chinese, Javanese, Buddhist and Persian styles, denoting Chinese-made objects for foreign markets.

Such early examples of Chinese exports had not been seen before, according to experts consulted by Rolf Marie in the U.S. and Europe. It appears that Tilman uncovered a pivotal spot on the trade route from China out to the West. “It’s a kind of seaborne silk route,” Marie says, “so the finds are important and educational on many levels.”

The company emphasizes that, unlike standard treasure hunters, Seabed paid meticulous attention to historical, archeological and conservation procedures throughout its operations. Indeed Seabed seems to have received top marks from experts who were invited to supervise, such as Lothar Ledderose, Heidelberg University East Asian art history professor, who is now at the Getty Museum. He wrote the preliminary introduction to the Intan find. Says Marie: “Not a single object was ruined or a site irresponsibly excavated.”

Marie and colleague von Uexküll have been in the U.S. for a few weeks on a show-and-tell mission, assessing the market and talking to professionals. They were in New York recently to take advantage of Asia Week’s concentration of the world’s top curators, collectors, dealers and experts. Marie met with dealer Khalil Rizk of the Chinese Porcelain Co. in Manhattan; Rizk is a well-known world authority on Asian antiques. In remarks made after their meeting, Rizk was clearly impressed by what he saw, though he wondered about the effect of so many artifacts descending on the market in one fell swoop.

According to Marie, Seabed has considered this issue. “We are in no hurry to unload or let go of anything. We will take our time and do it right, over several years if necessary–that includes consideration for the market as well as for the cultural and historical value of our finds. So we’re certainly talking museums too, who might be interested.”

It appears that Seabed may have more to reveal and other projects simmering, so a strategy over time would not be surprising.

According to Tilman, the whole thing began when he was chatting with Asian in-laws who told him of rumored treasures in the general area of the finds. Complete with scuba gear, he traveled to the area and went on his own underwater expedition. Between then and now, Tilman’s perseverance and diplomacy in getting backers, creating a salvage company, mustering the technology and dealing with locals before raising the wreckage, then preserving it all patiently, seems nothing short of phenomenal. Under the circumstances, no doubt he feels he can wait a little longer.

White porcelain bowl with yingqinq glaze, Song dynasty or earlier, from the Intan shipwreck.